Sectional display stand and making method thereof

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a sectional display stand. The sectional display stand comprises a plurality of display plates each formed by vacuum forming and each having two-stepped recesses and two-stepped projections at corner portions thereof which are relatively weak when compared to other portions thereof, a lower part of each recess having a size less than an upper part of each recess; a plurality of first reinforcing members inserted into lower parts of the recesses of the display plates to reinforce the corner portions at which the recesses and the projections are defined; and a plurality of poles each having one end which is fitted between the first reinforcing member and the upper part of the recess and the other end which is fitted around a lower part of the projection, to construct the display plates into multiple layers in a vertical direction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates, in general, to a sectional display stand and, more particularly, to a sectional display stand which is constructed by vertically assembling a plurality of display plates using reinforcing members and poles, the display plates having hollow connections formed by vacuum at corner portions.

2. Description of the Prior Art

As well known to those skilled in the art, a material of a display stand is selected depending upon a kind and an entire weight of articles to be displayed. That is to say, in the case that an article is heavy or an entire weight of articles to be displayed is substantial, metal is used as the material of the display stand. In the case that an article is not heavy or an entire weight of is articles to be displayed is not substantial, synthetic resin, etc., are used as the material of the display stand. In the case that an article has a light weight or an entire weight of articles to be displayed is light, cardboard, etc., are used as the material of the display stand.

However, except the case in which the entire weight of articles to be display is substantial, the display stand is made of synthetic resin. The reason to this is because it is possible to conveniently construct at a low cost a display stand having a hardness which is greater than a predetermined value to heavy. Also, in the case that synthetic resin is used to construct the display stand, advantages are provided in that a display stand can be manufactured to have a desired configuration.

Display stands made of synthetic resin have been disclosed in Korean Utility Model Publication No. 19964633 and Korean Utility Model Registration No. 170581. Technical disclosures of these documents will be schematically described below.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a construction of a sectional display stand disclosed in Korean Utility Model Publication No. 19964633. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional sectional display stand 100 comprises first and second display plates 110 and 120 which are respectively defined with recesss 111 and 121 at corner portions thereof, connection pipes 130 which are respectively fitted into the recesss 111 and 121 of the display plates 110 and 120 in the vertical direction, and a connection joint 140 which is fitted around the upper ends of two adjoining connection pipes 130 to connect the two adjoining connection pipes 130. The display plates 110 and 120, connection pipes 130 and the connection joint 140 are assembled to define a desired shape. The display plates 110 and 120, connection pipes 130 and the connection joint 140 are formed by injection molding of synthetic resin.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a construction of a sectional display stand disclosed in Korean Utility Model Korean Utility Model Registration No. 170581. Referring to FIG. 2, the conventional sectional display stand 200 comprises a display stand body 210 which has fitting grooves 211 and fitting projections 212 at the upper and lower ends of corner portions thereof, and connection blocks 220 which are respectively fitted into the fitting grooves and the fitting projections 212 of the display stand body 210 in the vertical direction to connect display stand bodies with one another. At this time, the display stand body 210 and the connection blocks 220 are made by injection molding of synthetic resin.

As can be readily seen from the above description, most sectional display stand according to the conventional art is constructed to be assembled. In this regard, the component elements (display plates, connection pipes, connection blocks, etc.) of the conventional sectional display stand are formed by injection molding of synthetic resin and are assembled with one another to construct the sectional display stand.

Nevertheless, while a display stand may be used for a lengthy period of time depending upon a purpose or usage thereof, it can also be used for a short period of time. Further, if articles to be displayed are replaced with new articles, a configuration of the display stand is changed to improve display effect. Moreover, only a small number of display stands may be manufactured depending upon a kind of an article to be displayed.

As described above, the component elements (such as display plates, connection pipes, connection blocks, etc.) constituting the conventional display stand are formed by injection molding of synthetic resin. However, in order to form these component elements through injection molding, since molds which respectively correspond to these component elements must be fabricated, a problem is caused in that fabrication of the molds costs a lot. In particular, in the case of fabricating a mold having a complex configuration, the cost cannot but further increase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sectional display stand wherein display plates having relatively complex configuration are formed by vacuum forming in such a way as to have connections, reinforcing members and poles having relatively simple configuration are formed by injection molding or extrusion, and then, the display plates are connected to one another by the poles with the reinforcing members inserted into the connections of the display plates, whereby it is possible to provide a sectional display stand having sufficient strength at a low cost.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a multi-staired sectional display stand comprising: a plurality of display plates having hollow connections; a plurality of hollow poles connecting between upstair connections and downstair connections; and a plurality of reinforcing members inserted into the hollow connections, wherein each hollow connection having a two-stepped recess at a side and a two-stepped projection at the other side, a portion of each reinforcing member is fitted into the narrowed portion of the two-stepped recess of one of the display plates, an end of each hollow pole is fitted into space between the other portion of each reinforcing member and the expended portion of the two-stepped recess, and the other end of each hollow pole is fitted around the slender portion of the two-stepped projection of the next one of the display plate.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the sectional display stand further comprises a plurality of second reinforcing members each having one end which is fitted around the lower part of the projection and the other end around which the other end of the pole is fitted, to further reinforce the connections.

According to another aspect of the present invention, each reinforcing member is formed to have a two-stepped configuration similar to the connections.

According to another aspect of the present invention, each connection has a polygonal sectional shape.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the reinforcing member has a solid, hollow, or one end-closed hollow sectional shape.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for making a sectional display stand, comprising the steps of forming by vacuum forming a plurality of display plates each having two-stepped connections, forming by extrusion or injection molding a plurality of reinforcing members to be inserted into the connections of the display plates, inserting each reinforcing member into narrowed portion of each connection, and fitting one end of each pole between the reinforcing member and the expanded portion of the connection and the other end of the pole around the slender portion of the projection.

According to another aspect of the present invention, each reinforcing member is extruded or injection-molded to have a two-stepped configuration similar to the recess.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, the display plate is vacuum-formed such that the recess has a polygonal sectional shape.

According to yet still another aspect of the present invention, the reinforcing member is extruded or injection-molded to have a solid, hollow, or one end-dosed hollow sectional shape.

According to the present invention, the display plates having a relatively complex configuration are formed by vacuum forming which requires a low manufacturing cost, and the reinforcing members and the poles having a relatively simple configuration are formed by extrusion or injection molding which is convenient to manufacture.

The vacuum forming method indicates a technique in which a heat-softened synthetic resin sheet is pressed to form, for example, a container which does not receive a substantially large load. The details of the vacuum forming method will be described below.

In order to manufacture a product by the vacuum forming method, after a mold is first set in a fully automatic vacuum forming machine, a synthetic resin sheet having a predetermined thickness is placed on the vacuum forming machine and heated. By doing this, the synthetic resin sheet is heated and softened. In this state, the synthetic resin sheet is conveyed onto the mold and temporarily stopped according to a predefined specification. Thereupon, a plug member which is contoured in advance presses the synthetic resin sheet which is in the softened state, to conform the synthetic resin sheet to the contour of the mold, and at this time, by applying vacuum, the synthetic resin sheet is kept fully conforming to the contour of the mold. Thereafter, the synthetic resin sheet which has been formed in this way is first cooled, conveyed, second cooled and cut into a predetermined size. Then, the synthetic resin sheet undergoes a finishing process, whereby an end product is obtained.

As the synthetic resin sheet used in the vacuum forming method, PS, PET, PVC, PE, ABS, etc., can be exemplified. Further, as the vacuum formed products, electronic or electric home appliances, toys, computer peripheral devices, containers such as used for receiving presents, lunch packages, etc., can be exemplified. Therefore, the vacuum forming method can be used to manufacture a container which does not receive a substantially large load, and the like.

In the vacuum forming method, since the heated and softened synthetic resin sheet is formed by being pressed, advantages are provided in that a manufacturing cost decreases. However, the vacuum forming method cannot be applied to manufacture a product which receives a substantial load. In particular, due to characteristics inherent in the vacuum forming method, because a portion having a relatively complex configuration cannot but have a thickness which is less than that of other portions, it is difficult to apply the vacuum forming method to form a product which has a complex configuration and a substantially large thickness.

In this consideration, in the present invention, the display plate having a relatively complex configuration is formed by the vacuum forming method which requires only a low manufacturing cost, and the portions of the display plate which are weaker than other portions due to the relatively complex configuration is appropriately reinforced by the separate reinforcing member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are exploded perspective views illustrating constructions of sectional display stands according to the conventional art;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a construction of a sectional display stand in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the assembled state of the sectional display stand shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged sectional view illustrating a coupling relationship of the sectional display stand shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a manufacturing procedure of the sectional display stand shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a partial enlarged sectional view illustrating a coupling relationship of a sectional display stand in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in greater detail to a preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a construction of a sectional display stand in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the assembled state of the sectional display stand shown in FIG. 3; and FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged sectional view illustrating a coupling relationship of the sectional display stand shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIGS. 3 through 5, a sectional display stand 300 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of display plates 310 which are defined with connections having a two-stepped recess 311 at a side and a two-stepped projection 312 at the other side, a plurality of reinforcing members 320 which are partially inserted into the recess 311 to reinforce the corner portions of the display plates 310, and a plurality of poles 330 each having a lower end which is fitted between the reinforcing member 320 and the upper part of the recess 311 and an upper end which is fitted around the lower part of the projection 312, to construct the plurality of display plates 310 into multiple layers in a vertical direction.

The display plates 310 are manufactured by a vacuum forming method. Each display plate 310 has a predetermined area and a predetermined height to define a space in which products can be displayed. Therefore, since the display space of the display plate 310 has a depth which substantially corresponds to the height of the display plate 310, it is possible to safely display the products.

When viewed from the top, the recess 311 which has the depth substantially corresponding to the height of the display plate 310 is defined at each corner portion of the display plate 310, and when viewed from the bottom, the projection 312 which delimits the recess 311 is formed at each corner portion of the display plate 310. That is to say, when manufacturing the display plate 310 by the vacuum forming method, since the projection 312 is formed such that a softened synthetic resin sheet conforms to the contour of a mold, the recess 311 and the projection 312 are simultaneously formed at opposite sides each other.

Due to the fact that the recess 311 and the projection 312 respectively have a depth and a height which correspond to the height of the display plate 310, they are thin and weak when compared to other parts. Accordingly, in the present invention, in order to reinforce the weak corner portions of the display plate 310, the reinforcing members 320 are separately employed. In this regard, the recess 311 is defined in a manner such that the reinforcing member 320 can be effectively inserted into the recess 311.

The recess 311 is defined to allow a portion of the reinforcing member 320 to be inserted therein. To this end, the recess 311 is defined to have multiple parts having different sizes. In this regard, in consideration of easy manufacture, K is preferred that the recess 311 is defined to have two steps. The lower part of the recess 311 has a size which is less than that of the upper part of the recess 311. In other words, the lower part of the recess 311 has a size which allows the reinforcing member 320 to be inserted therein, and the upper part of the recess 311 has a size which allows a predetermined gap to be defined between the upper part of the recess 311 and the outer surface of the reinforcing member 320. At this time, the gap defined between the upper part of the recess 311 and the outer surface of the reinforcing member 320 has a size which allows the pole 330 to be inserted therein. The upper part of the recess 311 has the size which allows the pole 330 to be inserted therein. Accordingly, an engagement shoulder 313 is formed at the middle portion of the recess 311 to extend around the inner circumference of the recess 311.

In order to increase a coupling force between the reinforcing member 320 and the pole 330 which are inserted into the recess 311, it is preferred that the recess 311 be defined to have a polygonal sectional shape. For example, while the recess 311 can be defined to have a quadrangular sectional shape as in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it can also be defined to have a pentagonal, hexagonal or octagonal sectional shape. When the recess 311 is defined to have a polygonal sectional shape, the reinforcing member 320 and the pole 330 are formed to have the same sectional shape.

As described above, the projection 312 is formed to have two steps similar to the recess 311. An engagement shoulder 314 is formed at the middle portion of the projection 312 to extend around the outer circumference of the projection 312. The lower part of the projection 312 which corresponds to the lower part of the recess 311 has a size which allows the pole 330 to be fitted around the lower part of the projection 312.

The reinforcing member 320 according to the present invention functions to reinforce the weak corner portions of the display plate 310 at which the recesses 311 and the projections 312 are defined and increase a coupling force between the display plate 310 and the pole 330. Thus, the reinforcing member 320 is formed to have a solid, hollow, or one end-dosed hollow sectional shape, to thereby retain strength which is greater than a predetermined value.

For instance, the reinforcing member 320 can be formed by injection molding to have a sectional shape similar to that of the recess 311 of the display plate 310. The reinforcing member 320 has a height which is no less than the depth of the recess 311. The reinforcing member 320 is sized to ensure that the reinforcing member 320 is partially inserted into the lower part of the recess 311. That is to say, K is preferable to form reinforcing member 320 such that the lower part of the reinforcing member 320 has a size which is less than that of the upper part of the reinforcing member 320. The reason why the reinforcing member 320 is formed to have two steps in this way is to increase coupling force between the upper part of the reinforcing member 320 and the pole 330. Namely, the projection 312 is formed to have a size which is greater than that of the recess 311 by the thickness of the projection 312. In this regard, since K is preferred that the pole 330 is flush with the projection 312, the reinforcing member 320 is formed to have two parts to thereby compensate a difference in thickness between the upper and lower parts of the projection 312.

Accordingly, the lower part (the fixed part) of the reinforcing member 320 is fixedly inserted into the lower end of the recess 311 to reinforce the corner portions of the display plate 310 at which the recess 311 and the projection 312 are defined. The upper part (the free part) of the reinforcing member 320 is positioned in the upper part of the recess 311 to define the predetermined gap between the upper part of the reinforcing member 320 and the upper part of the recess 311 to thereby increase coupling force between the display plate 310 and the pole 330 to be inserted into the gap. Due to the fact that the lower part of the reinforcing member 320 is inserted into the lower part of the recess 311 to be brought into surface contact with the display plate 310 over a wide area and to thereby reinforce the corner portion of the display plate 310 at which the recess 311 and the projection 312 are defined, the corner portion of the display plate 310 has strength which is greater than that of other parts of the display plate 310.

The lower end (one end) of the pole 330 according to the present invention is inserted between the upper part of the reinforcing member 320 and the upper part of the recess 311 (which is not brought into contact with the reinforcing member 320), and the upper end (the other end) of the pole 330 is fitted around the lower part of the projection 312, to construct the plurality of display plates 310 into multiple layers in the vertical direction. Therefore, the pole 330 has an internal size which is fitted around the lower part of the projection 312 and an external size which is inserted into the recess 311. The pole 330 is formed to have a hollow polygonal sectional shape which corresponds to the reinforcing member 320. For example, when forming the pole 330 as shown in FIG. 3, the pole 330 is extruded or injection-molded in the shape of a quadrangular pipe having a predetermined thickness. The lower end of the pole 330 is inserted between the upper part of the reinforcing member 320 and the upper part of the recess 311, with the reinforcing member 320 being partially inserted into the lower part of the recess 311. The upper end of the pole 330 is fitted around the lower part of the projection 312 into which the reinforcing member 320 is fixedly inserted, to construct the plurality of display plates 310 into multiple layers in the vertical direction.

Hereafter, a procedure for manufacturing the sectional display stand 300 constructed as mentioned above will be described in detail.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a manufacturing procedure of the sectional display stand shown in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 6, the plurality of display plates 310 which are defined with the recesses 311 and the projections 312 at the corner portions thereof are first formed by the conventional vacuum forming method. Further, the plurality of reinforcing members 320 respectively inserted into the recesses 311 of the display plates 310 to reinforce the display plates 310 and the plurality of poles 330 for connecting the plurality of display plates into multiple layers in the vertical direction are formed by conventional extrusion or injection molding method (S100).

Then, the reinforcing members 320 are respectively inserted into the lower parts of the recesses 311 (S110). At this time, the lower part of each reinforcing member 320 is inserted into the lower part of the recess 311 to reinforce the corner portion of the display plate 310 at which the recess 311 and the projection 312 are defined, and the upper part of the reinforcing member 320 is positioned at the predetermined gap from the inner circumference of the upper part of the recess 311.

Next, the lower end of the pole 330 is inserted between the upper part of the reinforcing member 320 and the upper part of the recess 311, and the upper end of the pole 330 is fitted around the lower part of the projection 312, to assemble the plurality of display plates 310 into multiple layers in the vertical direction (S120). At this time, the lower and upper ends of the pole 311 are inserted in such a way as to be respectively engaged with the engagement shoulders 313 and 314 which are formed at the middle portions of the recess 311 and the projection 312.

FIG. 7 is a partial enlarged sectional view illustrating a coupling relationship of a sectional display stand in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 7, the sectional display stand according to this second preferred embodiment of the present invention is constructed in the same manner as the first preferred embodiment, except that it further includes a plurality of another reinforcing members 340 each having one end which is fitted around the lower part of the projection 312 and the other end around which the other end of the pole 330 is fitted, to further reinforce the corner portions at which the recesses 311 and the projections 312 are defined.

Each of the reinforcing members 340 according to this second embodiment of the present invention is formed to have two parts in a manner such that each reinforcing member 340 has an internal size which corresponds to the projection 312 and an external size which corresponds to the pole 330. At a boundary region between the two parts of the reinforcing member 340, an engagement shoulder 341 with which the other end of the pole 330 is engaged is formed on the reinforcing member 340. The reinforcing member 340 is formed by extrusion or injection molding.

As described above, in the present invention, the display plates 310 having a relatively complex configuration is formed by a vacuum forming method which requires only a low manufacturing cost, and the recesses 311 and the projections 312 which are weak due to complexity in configuration are formed to have multiple parts to be easily reinforced. The separate reinforcing members 320 and 340 are inserted into the lower part of the recess 311 and fitted around the lower part of the projection 312, to be brought into surface contact with and thereby reinforce the recess 311 and the projection 312 over a wide area. As a result, the recess 311 and the projection 312 can have a structure which has strength greater than that of other parts of the display plate 310.

As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides advantages in, that display plates having relatively complex configuration are formed by vacuum forming in such a way as to have recesses and projections at respective corner portions thereof, reinforcing members and poles having relatively simple configuration are formed by injection molding or extrusion, and the display plates are connected to one another by the poles with the reinforcing members inserted into the recesses of the display plates, whereby it is possible to provide a sectional display stand having sufficient strength at a low cost.

Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims. 

1. A multi-staired sectional display stand comprising: a plurality of display plates having hollow connections; a plurality of hollow poles connecting between upstair connections and downstair connections; a plurality of reinforcing members inserted into the hollow connections; each hollow connection having a two-stepped recess at a side and a two-stepped projection at the other side; a portion of each reinforcing member is fitted into the narrowed portion of the two-stepped recess of one of the display plates; an end of each hollow pole is fitted into space between the other portion of each reinforcing member and the expended portion of the two-stepped recess; and the other end of each hollow pole is fitted around the slender portion of the two-stepped projection of the next one of the display plate.
 2. The sectional display stand according to claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of second reinforcing members each having one end which is fitted around an outer side of the projection and the other end around which the other end of the pole is fitted, to further reinforce the corner portions at which the recesses and the projections are defined.
 3. The sectional display stand according to claim 1, wherein each reinforcing member is formed to have a two-stepped configuration similar to the recess.
 4. The sectional display stand according to claim 2, wherein each reinforcing member is formed to have a two stepped configuration similar to the recess.
 5. The sectional display stand according to claim 3, wherein the recess has a polygonal sectional shape.
 6. The sectional display stand according to claim 4, wherein the recess has a polygonal sectional shape.
 7. The sectional display stand according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member has a solid, hollow, or one end-closed hollow sectional shape.
 8. The sectional display stand according to claim 2, wherein the reinforcing member has a solid, hollow, or one end-closed hollow sectional shape.
 9. A method for making a sectional display stand, comprising the steps of: forming by vacuum forming a plurality of display plates each having two-stepped connections; forming by extrusion or injection molding a plurality of reinforcing members to be inserted into the connections of the display plates; inserting each reinforcing member into narrowed portion of each connection; and fitting one end of each pole between the reinforcing member and the expanded portion of the connection and the other end of the pole around the slender portion of the projection.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein each reinforcing member is extruded or injection-molded to have a two-stepped configuration similar to the recess.
 11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the recess is vacuum-formed to have a polygonal sectional shape.
 12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the recess is vacuum-formed to have a polygonal sectional shape.
 13. The method according to claim 9, wherein the reinforcing member is extruded or injection-molded to have a solid, hollow, or one end-closed hollow sectional shape.
 14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the reinforcing member is extruded or injection-molded to have a solid, hollow, or one end-closed hollow sectional shape. 